Why Are B2B Companies Moving Inside Sales To The Marketing Department?

Data is radically changing the role of the inside sales rep, especially in B2B companies.  The influx of data is driving inside sales to function as a key point of alignment with, if not an extension of, the marketing team at some companies. This poses a provocative question: if the lines between marketing and inside sales are blurring, who’s the real boss when it comes to inside sales, the CMO or the CRO/Head of Sales?

5 Surprising Ideas in Demand Generation

1. Direct Mail is back (kind of)

Executives are not likely to open your link and register for your whitepaper or webinar. Bring back the old school direct mail. Matt Heinz has two ideas for reaching executives. First idea: if you are going to a trade show in Vegas or Atlantic City, send a two-day mail with a pair of dice in the package to give it shape. They are more likely to open it and they will remember it when they see you at the trade show. Put an invitation to talk in the package.

Strategy is Key for Improving B2B Demand Generation Results

The survey of marketers involved in enterprise B2B businesses notes that although 42 percent have ongoing demand generation campaigns, 11 percent feel that these goals are hindered by a lack of training, resources and strategy. When surveyed, 81 percent of marketers said their top three goals in their enterprise business are quality leads, customer cross sell and volume of leads. Up to 44 percent said that limited resources were their biggest obstacles to a successful demand generation campaign, while 22 percent said they had no defined strategy, and only 8 percent cited a lack of technology as an obstacle to achieving their goals.

3 Killer Demand Generation Strategies For B2b Marketers

Your team spends a lot of time, energy and investment in building flawless websites, creating excellent content and driving traffic to the website to capture leads. But are you doing it right? The goal of most demand generation programs is to help marketers attract new customers, tap into new markets, promote new products, build consumer buzz and reengage with your existing customers.

Strategy is Key for Improving B2B Demand Generation Results

The survey of marketers involved in enterprise B2B businesses notes that although 42 percent have ongoing demand generation campaigns, 11 percent feel that these goals are hindered by a lack of training, resources and strategy. When surveyed, 81 percent of marketers said their top three goals in their enterprise business are quality leads, customer cross sell and volume of leads. Up to 44 percent said that limited resources were their biggest obstacles to a successful demand generation campaign, while 22 percent said they had no defined strategy, and only 8 percent cited a lack of technology as an obstacle to achieving their goals.

The Art and Science of B2B Demand Generation Marketing

For B2B marketers, the pressure to bring in new leads is palpable.

 According to a recent study by the Content Marketing Institute (pdf), 85 percent of B2B marketers rank lead generation as their top goal for the next year — but it’s easier said than done. A separate study of B2B marketers found that less than one-third feel their demand generation process effectively meets their organizations’ needs.

Top 5 Challenges for B2B Demand Generation Marketers

I’m here at the MarketingSherpa B2B Demand Generation Summit in Boston. The opening session was by Sean Donahue, Senior Editor for B-to-B Marketing at MarketingSherpa. In it, he shared the top five challenges faced by B2B marketers. I was especially intrigued by challenges 3, 4, and 5.

What is Demand Generation and Why is it so Important?

You’ve heard the buzzwords “Demand Generation” a thousand times. But that doesn’t mean you have a clear handle on what it is, or why you should care about it. Given this, I thought it would be useful for business2community readers to explain what “Demand Generation” is, and how it should fit in with a small-to-medium-sized business’s overall marketing strategy.

Demand generation is any activity conducted by an organization’s marketing department that directly contributes to more revenue (and profit) generated for the company.

What is Demand Generation Marketing?

The role of demand generation marketing is evolving along with technology, enabling B2B marketers to get better at filling the pipeline with actual opportunities versus just a bunch of leads.

6 Ways B2B Demand Generation Teams Can Start 2017 Strong

WOW! We are less than two weeks away from 2017. It’s hard to believe that another full year has passed. I feel like it was just a few months ago when we were planning for 2016.

 At Imagine, as we reflect on 2016, we can pat ourselves on the back for a few things but like many of you, we’re also painfully aware of the things that didn’t go quite right or even surprised us.

6 Fundamentals of B2B Demand Generation Marketing

Demand generation is not a new concept. Because it recently found its way into the spotlight, however, people approach it with a bit of confusion and trepidation. At its core, though, the ominous-sounding phrase really boils down to this: use marketing to make more money.

7 Creative Demand Gen Tactics to Drive Trade Show Booth Traffic

Even in this digital age, trade shows are still a core part of many B2B marketers’ 2017 demand generation plans. Generating maximum return from that investment, however, requires careful planning, and close attention to both pre-show and post-show communications strategy.

In a previous post, I discussed key strategies for following up with trade show leads. Here are 7 ideas for increasing booth traffic and lead volume at the show:

Why B2B Demand Generation Managers Might Be Doing More Harm than Good

A key piece of advice in B2B sales is that “businesses don’t buy solutions, people do.” It’s hard to argue; the idea that you should appeal to individuals at a personal level seems logical.

5 Statistics About B2B Demand Generation with Social Media That You Need to Know

Generating more leads is a B2B marketer’s biggest challenge, with 61% of marketers ranking it as their top issue in 2013. With dozens of different B2B demand generation tactics, how do you decide which strategy is worth your time? 

The Art and Science of B2B Demand Generation Marketing

For B2B marketers, the pressure to bring in new leads is palpable. According to a recent study by the Content Marketing Institute (pdf), 85 percent of B2B marketers rank lead generation as their top goal for the next year — but it’s easier said than done. A separate study of B2B marketers found that less than one-third feel their demand generation process effectively meets their organizations’ needs.

5 Ways Your Organisation Would Benefit From a Demand Centre

The effective balancing of marketing resources within middle-sized and enterprise organisations is a daunting task. According to recent research, on average organisations restructure their marketing resources every 2.5 years often with little or no gain. Such restructuring causes numerous headaches for entire departments and often creates more problems than it was meant to solve.